This review may contain spoilers
I won't condone this type of behavior.
How did a drama that started so strong ended up being a total mess?
Let me begin by saying that I'm a gay man and as part of the LGBTQ+ community, I can't support the way this story showcases gay relationships. There were a few things about this show that pulled out the red flags from me, and all of them relate to how toxic, forced, and abusive the relationship between the lead characters and their supports were managed. I'll list my problems with it below:
This review contains SPOILERS, so please be warned if you haven't watch it yet. Actually, you should not watch it for the sake of not giving it more attention.
~ The sexual assault is a big issue in this drama. Originally, I thought that having a traumatized lead character (Type) who suffered of sexual assault when he was younger was a good thing for the plot and his character development; however, things took a weird turn when the writers decided to romanticize Tharn sexually assaulting him as well. What kinda audacity is this? It was not once, it was not twice, but SEVERAL times. Type clearly despised Tharn, but that didn't stop the later from kissing his cheek, kissing his lips and naked torso when he's PASSED OUT DRUNK, forcing himself on top of his body several times (which was not good for Type's mental state at the moment), and blowing him in the bathroom. By the way, NONE OF THIS WAS CONSENTED BY TYPE AT ANY MOMENT.
The character Tar is also one who needs to be called out due to his attempt of sexually assaulting Tharn in the hotel room. It doesn't matter what your situation was, it is UNFORGIVABLE.
~ Type is the most toxic, petty, and unreasonable character. When I began watching the drama I gave him the benefit of the doubt because he was clearly not a mentally stable guy, but I don't think that's the only problem here. Type would constantly bring up the excuse of hating gays to physically and verbally abuse others (Tharn in specific). I do agree Tharn deserved a couple of punches because of what I wrote above, but there were plenty of occasions in which he was unfairly assaulted due to Type's anger problems. Was this unhealthy level of violence categorized as "love" by the writers? It sure was! And it was NOT okay. Even people with mental problems get punished by law because of the consequences of their actions, so I am disappointed that Type was able to do as he pleased with his violence. This felt like Eminem and Rihanna's "Love the Way You Lie" music video.
~ What the hell is going on with Tharn? First of all, he's definitely NOT one of my favorite characters, but seeing him being such a passive man was aggravating. This is a character that also had his own traumas due to love and break ups, but I could not stand him seeing him taking such weak role. Where is that confidence that you showed on the first episodes when you would stand up and defend yourself from Type's aggression? All this violence was not worth it.
~ Possible incest relationship? It is not confirmed in the drama story, but Tum looked like he was having more than just brotherly feels towards Tar. I'm not going to comment too much on this because nothing happened, but it's still kinda sus.
Some of you may not know this, but sexual assault is a very big problem for LGBTQ+ in media. I don't know where the author got inspiration from, but it kinda seems like he or she read a couple yaoi manga before writing this novel. Yaoi and Shounen Ai manga in Japan are know for portraying gay relationships and quite a bit of sexual assault as "romance," so I would not be surprised if this was their inspiration. You guys, it is NOT okay to support these kind of stories in media, because many of you are just straight girls who happen to be obsessed with gays, but for LGBTQ+ and specially gay people, portraying us in sexual assault scenes actually bring us a lot of backlash. You may think is just media, but A LOT of people get influenced by media and use it as an excuse to hate on us. So please do not support these shows.
Lastly, I would like to point out that I have nothing against these actors because, after all, they were just doing their job. I think some of them were actually very good at acting and I enjoyed their performances, but this is just not the right story to work with.
Let me begin by saying that I'm a gay man and as part of the LGBTQ+ community, I can't support the way this story showcases gay relationships. There were a few things about this show that pulled out the red flags from me, and all of them relate to how toxic, forced, and abusive the relationship between the lead characters and their supports were managed. I'll list my problems with it below:
This review contains SPOILERS, so please be warned if you haven't watch it yet. Actually, you should not watch it for the sake of not giving it more attention.
~ The sexual assault is a big issue in this drama. Originally, I thought that having a traumatized lead character (Type) who suffered of sexual assault when he was younger was a good thing for the plot and his character development; however, things took a weird turn when the writers decided to romanticize Tharn sexually assaulting him as well. What kinda audacity is this? It was not once, it was not twice, but SEVERAL times. Type clearly despised Tharn, but that didn't stop the later from kissing his cheek, kissing his lips and naked torso when he's PASSED OUT DRUNK, forcing himself on top of his body several times (which was not good for Type's mental state at the moment), and blowing him in the bathroom. By the way, NONE OF THIS WAS CONSENTED BY TYPE AT ANY MOMENT.
The character Tar is also one who needs to be called out due to his attempt of sexually assaulting Tharn in the hotel room. It doesn't matter what your situation was, it is UNFORGIVABLE.
~ Type is the most toxic, petty, and unreasonable character. When I began watching the drama I gave him the benefit of the doubt because he was clearly not a mentally stable guy, but I don't think that's the only problem here. Type would constantly bring up the excuse of hating gays to physically and verbally abuse others (Tharn in specific). I do agree Tharn deserved a couple of punches because of what I wrote above, but there were plenty of occasions in which he was unfairly assaulted due to Type's anger problems. Was this unhealthy level of violence categorized as "love" by the writers? It sure was! And it was NOT okay. Even people with mental problems get punished by law because of the consequences of their actions, so I am disappointed that Type was able to do as he pleased with his violence. This felt like Eminem and Rihanna's "Love the Way You Lie" music video.
~ What the hell is going on with Tharn? First of all, he's definitely NOT one of my favorite characters, but seeing him being such a passive man was aggravating. This is a character that also had his own traumas due to love and break ups, but I could not stand him seeing him taking such weak role. Where is that confidence that you showed on the first episodes when you would stand up and defend yourself from Type's aggression? All this violence was not worth it.
~ Possible incest relationship? It is not confirmed in the drama story, but Tum looked like he was having more than just brotherly feels towards Tar. I'm not going to comment too much on this because nothing happened, but it's still kinda sus.
Some of you may not know this, but sexual assault is a very big problem for LGBTQ+ in media. I don't know where the author got inspiration from, but it kinda seems like he or she read a couple yaoi manga before writing this novel. Yaoi and Shounen Ai manga in Japan are know for portraying gay relationships and quite a bit of sexual assault as "romance," so I would not be surprised if this was their inspiration. You guys, it is NOT okay to support these kind of stories in media, because many of you are just straight girls who happen to be obsessed with gays, but for LGBTQ+ and specially gay people, portraying us in sexual assault scenes actually bring us a lot of backlash. You may think is just media, but A LOT of people get influenced by media and use it as an excuse to hate on us. So please do not support these shows.
Lastly, I would like to point out that I have nothing against these actors because, after all, they were just doing their job. I think some of them were actually very good at acting and I enjoyed their performances, but this is just not the right story to work with.
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